Another UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCE of GLOBALIZATION, folks!
"Zebra mussels clog Berkshire lake; Officials hoping to slow spread" by Beth Daley, Globe Staff | July 15, 2009
LEE - The mollusks, originally from Russia, probably hitched a ride to the United States on a freighter in 1988. Since then, the mussels have become the poster child for the economic havoc a foreign species can wreak in a place with no natural predators. Adult zebra mussels colonize all types of living and nonliving surfaces, including native freshwater mussels, docks, boat hulls, and even each other, forming layers up to 1 foot thick.
Power and steel plants, water suppliers, and other businesses that suck in fresh water spend millions each year in the Great Lakes region chemically treating or retooling pipes to prevent mussel buildup, according to the US Geological Survey. In reservoirs, the mussels can make water taste bad, and their shells are so sharp that they can cut swimmers’ feet. The US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that zebra mussels could cost billions of dollars over the next 10 years in the Great Lakes region.
The animals feed on microscopic plant life in lakes, squeezing out small fish. They can filter up to 1 liter of water a day, eventually allowing sunlight to penetrate deeper, and in many cases that allows different plants to take hold, some also invasive. The mussels have no commercial value. While they are technically edible, they are rarely eaten because they can accumulate pollutants in their bodies.
“They can totally change the ecosystem,’’ said Jim Straub, akes and ponds coordinator for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. He and Flannery spent yesterday in the 50-foot deep Laurel Lake and today will be in the Housatonic, into which the lake’s water often spills. They estimate the mussels have been in the lake about two years, though tests have to confirm that.
The mussels are especially feared in the Berkshires because many waterways there are high in calcium and nonacidic, conditions in which the mussels thrive. If microscopic mussel larvae get into boat intake valves or even kayaks, they can hitch a ride to another lake and take hold, many officials fear. The only way to slow their spread is to get boaters and other water users to carefully wash all equipment and gear or let it dry for about a week in sunny weather, which kills the mussels.
You can FORGET about THAT around here this wet, chilly summer!
Yet as Flannery and Straub dove for the striped mussel yesterday, the challenges of preventing its spread could be seen at the nearby state boat ramp, the only one closed by the state. A young man in a yellow kayak pushed off from shore at the boat ramp, even after several people told him it was prohibited to launch from there. When a Globe reporter asked him why he was ignoring the sign, he replied that he knew how to handle zebra mussels. “I’m here for the sun,’’ he said, paddling off.
Later, the divers saw him leaving the lake and told him how to disinfect the boat before bringing it to another water body. Nearby resident and boater Bill Abderhalden shook his head at the kayaker. He said he supports shutting the boat ramp until authorities figure out how widespread the problem is, but acknowledges that it is not a permanent solution.
“I grew up on this lake, and it is sad,’’ he said. “But they are not going to stop them by closing the ramp.’’
State environmental officials, who question communities’ right to close boat ramps, said they have talked to other states with major zebra mussel outbreaks and none has closed boat ramps. Rather, states use public education campaigns - Massachusetts has now launched one - to inform boaters to clean or dry boats. State officials have sent a memo to communities that oversee state boat ramps, saying they have the right to refuse access to any boat that had been in Laurel Lake, but not to close off the ramps to all boats.
I am SO SICK of directives from ON HIGH! All they are doing is turning me into a libertarian. LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL, in ALL THINGS!
And if the WATERWAYS go SOUR you KNOW WHO to blame!
Not everyone agrees. Selectmen in Stockbridge unanimously voted Saturday to close all public access via watercraft to the beloved Stockbridge Bowl “to give us time to develop a plan,’’ said George Shippey, the selectman who made the motion to declare a state of emergency there. The community also canceled about five fishing derbies over the next two months at the bowl. “We know we are doing the right thing,’’ Shippey said....
Yeah, because THEY LIVE THERE not in Boston!
--more--"
You guys ought to be GLAD we are shutting down the boat ramps (unless thirst is part of this rotten EndGame s***).
The menacing zebra mussel species that has taken over a Berkshires lake has been found in a stream that feeds into the Housatonic River in Western Massachusetts, amplifying fears that the invasive freshwater mollusk could contaminate drinking water supplies and other waterways across the state.
To prevent further spread, state environmental officials banned private recreational boating yesterday at the Quabbin Reservoir, a source of Boston’s drinking water and one of the state’s prime fishing areas.
Just yesterday they were saying don't shut down boating.
Oh, I see, when it is YOUR WATER all of a sudden they care!
Richard K. Sullivan, commissioner of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, said yesterday that the closing was a precaution, but was needed considering the threat that zebra mussels could take over lakes and ponds across the state. The mussels and their larvae have the ability to cling to boats and spread from pond to pond. The species, which has ravaged the Great Lakes, has already invaded Laurel Lake in the Berkshires.
State officials say they have little recourse in stopping the spread of the mussel into the Housatonic River. But, given the threat of the invasive mussel, which can wipe out native aquatic life, clog water intake pipes, and foul drinking water supplies, an emergency action plan has been put into place to stop it from spreading to waterways elsewhere, particularly the Quabbin.
“Given the fact that we ware talking about our public drinking water supply, the spread of the mussel could have significant impact to the infrastructure and ecology there,’’ Sullivan said. “We’re still respecting the right to public access, but just balancing that with the need to protect our drinking water supply.’’
One wonders why they let someone dump prescription drugs into it then:
Don't drink from the tap, Bay-Stater.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation will maintain a rental boat fleet at the reservoir, allowing some boating and fishing to continue. But the private boat ramps at the reservoir will remain closed for at least 45 days, until the state can design a way to regulate private boating and make sure all boats that enter the water are cleansed.
Of course, you will have to PAY for one of their boats!!!
(Blog editor just shaking his head.)
Sullivan said a long-term plan could include an official prohibition of private boats on the water or a system that will guarantee that any boat brought to the reservoir has been properly decontaminated. The move to close the reservoir and start a boater education plan on ways to properly clean boats, including kayaks and canoes, is part of a 2005 master plan that was drafted when the threat of the zebra mussel spreading here was first realized.
I don't like terms like that, do you?
Originally from Russia, the mollusks were first found in 1988 in Lake St. Clair, between Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Since then, they have ravaged the ecosystems of the Great Lakes and spread to Connecticut and New York. Last week, the mussel was discovered in 175-acre Laurel Lake in Lee and was found to be thriving days later. Its presence has alarmed boaters, environmentalists, and state officials who realize the threat of its spread.
The mussel is the poster child for the danger of foreign species that can wreak havoc on an environment, altering aquatic species and habitats. Power and steel plants and other businesses that use water sources spend millions of dollars each year in the Great Lakes region chemically treating or retooling pipes to prevent mussel buildup. Sullivan said there is no known threat to the Quabbin drinking water....
Paul Godfrey, a member of the Friends of Quabbin Inc., a nonprofit group:
“The Quabbin is pretty close to our last wilderness in Massachusetts, and I think we should keep it that way. Zebra mussels are an incredible threat to that place. They tend to clog up pipes, and there are a lot of them, all the way to Boston.’’
--more--"So what happens when you turn that faucet on and get no water?
